Say It Right
by chronicleofcoincidence
Summary: In the end, Winner got Maki's name right.


Hello! So, this is the fisrt Karin fanfic I've ever written...

I was so sad when I found out Winner was an anime-only character! I wanted him to be with Maki! But he is so obsessed over Karin... she belongs to Usui Kenta!

Anyway, this isn't really a WinnerMaki, since that is unlikely to happen. It is just a little drabble which came to me the other day.

Hope you enjoy!

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Maki had once told Karin she didn't go for guys who only looked good. She liked guys who were intelligent, caring and friendly. Yet she had waited, and waited, but the right man never came.

So why had she fallen for Winner Sinclair? Well, definitely not only because of his looks, though that helped too. He had long, blond hair and blue eyes. He had a well-toned body (after all, he was a vampire hunter) and very beautiful facial features. He even had a fan club of his own! But it hadn't been only because of that.

It was because of how he was.

He was childish, immature, stubborn, impetuous… yet she liked it. She liked how he didn't give up on anything. She liked the way he dealt with problems. She liked how he stood up until the very end. He wasn't extremely intelligent, but not that stupid either.

He was everything Maki wanted his ideal man to be, yet nothing like she had expected him to.

But he only had eyes for Karin. Yes, Maki's best friend. Karin here, Karin there, Karin everywhere. He rambled on about Karin being his "ideal woman" and the first one he ever kissed. He didn't even know Maki's name! He just called her "Karin-san's friend". Because that was what all was about. Karin.

She had tried to avoid falling for him. She knew what would eventually happen. But it hadn't worked. She just found herself entangling herself in his web more and more. Until she could deny it no more.

She, Maki Tokitou, was in love with Winner Sinclair.

She had tried to make Winner fall in love with her. She had helped him whenever she could. She had even made Karin behave like a brat just so Winner would stop liking her! But nothing had worked. After all, he just saw Karin. She was nothing. And jealousy had slowly crept into Maki's mind.

There was a point where she couldn't take it anymore. She had told Anju, Karin's sister, everything. All of her jealousy, her thoughts, her love. She didn't know how she had fallen asleep, but after waking up, she felt much better. It was as if though a burden had been lifted of her shoulders.

The day after, Karin came over to the bookshop. Maki saw she was sulking, so she decided to take her out. They went to the amusement park. But Maki knew something. Karin didn't want to be with her.

She wanted to be with Kenta Usui.

So she had taken her to the big wheel. There, both of them together, had figured out Karin's feelings. When Karin had jumped out of the wheel, and ran off to find Kenta, she was so spirited Maki knew she had done the right thing.

Maki had come across Winner that same evening. He was crying.

He had told her Karin was a vampire. It was incredible. Shocking. She couldn't believe him.

Yet she did.

Maki knew Winner wouldn't make something like that up. And, pulling apart things such as sunlight, garlic and crosses, it made sense.

The blood, her house, the bizarre events… It was somehow the missing part of the puzzle.

But Karin was still Karin. Maki wasn't mad at her. She somehow understood her. It didn't matter if Karin was a human or not. She was still the same Karin she was friends with. And nothing would come in between.

She had told Winner so. And he had understood. He still loved Karin, no matter who or what she was.

But Maki had confessed anyway. After giving him his Christmas present, she had told him she loved him. But he refused her. He couldn't return her feelings. So she had told him to protect Karin. And then she did a thing she regretted doing afterwards.

She kissed him. Even if she knew he wouldn't return her feelings, she kissed him.

When he had asked her why, she had said it was just because she didn't want Karin to be ahead of her. And then he did it.

He said her name.

For the first time since they knew each other, he had said her name.

"Maki-san."

She still remembered how he had said it. How her name had sounded.

And it had been enough. She couldn't have asked for anything else. So she let him go, after telling him to go to Karin.

And she prayed. She prayed for Karin, Kenta and Winner to be alright. For everyone to be okay.

And, thanks god, they had returned safely and unharmed.

After that, a few things had to be explained. But everything was solved. Karin explained Maki everything. And Maki told her that, even if she was a vampire, she would still be her friend. Karin was extremely grateful.

Winner didn't make any comments on what happened between Maki and him. He would just act as if though nothing happened.

Karin and Kenta started going out. So Maki and Winner got into the habit of stalking them wherever they went to. Well, it was Winner who had had the idea. Maki followed him partly because she wanted to see Karin and Kenta on dates and partly because, that way, she could get to spend more time with Winner. He didn't seem to care much about whether she followed him or she didn't. So she just did.

They would always hide someplace and watch the couple silently. But Winner would always make them go noticed as soon as he saw Kenta trying to make a move on Karin. He would jump out of anywhere and start claiming Karin for himself.

The first time had been back at Julian's…

Maki and Winner were bent behind a table, watching the happy couple. Kenta was helping Karin with her math, when suddenly his mom came to serve them. Kenta had no idea his mother was working there.

"Is Mom okay?" he asked, once she had left.

"If it doesn't work, I can just bite her again." Karin commented.

"Hey now! The only person you can bite Karin… is me."

Maki could feel Winner become tense.

Karin blushed. "Okay… Kenta-kun."

At this point, Winner couldn't hold himself anymore, so he stood up fiercely and started claiming Karin for himself, and saying things such as "Did you cover all bases?". Maki thought it was enough. For one part, Karin and Kenta were having a moment of intimacy, and she didn't want to disturb them. On the other hand, she was getting tired of Winner's childish behavior. So she stood up and grabbed his ear.

"Ouch! Could you stop that, Makito… Tomaki…"

Maki felt like blushing. At least, he tried. But she couldn't show her weakness. Not yet.

"You are the one who is going to be in trouble if you fail again!" she shouted, while pulling him out of the restaurant. But, before going she turned around, flashed them a sheepish smile and said:

"Sorry to disturb you!"

Since that day, she and Winner had gotten into the habit of following Kenta and Karin wherever they went to. They had gone to the cinema (Winner and Maki were sitting two rows behind, watching them through the entire movie), to the skating rink (where Winner had been constantly "accidentally falling over Karin-san" every time she held hands with Kenta) and to the shopping mall (where Maki and Winner wore sunglasses and hid behind a newspaper so they wouldn't be recognized). The scene at Julian's also repeated itself (sometimes, the manager would join them while spying, and he would start muttering things such as "young love". This made Winner tense, and Maki just ignored him.)

Maki hoped that, with time, Winner would stop stalking Karin wherever she went to. But things just kept getting worse.

The first time Karin leaned to kiss Kenta, Winner had jumped out of the bushes and started screaming stupidities:

"The lips of this perfect maiden are mine! Kenta Usui, I will not let you have them! They belong to the knight…"

At this point, the same scene had repeated itself. Maki grabbed his ear and pulled him away, after apologizing for the inconvenience.

"Ouch! Tomaki-san, that hurts!"

"It's Maki Tokitou!"

However, he never got her name right.

So now, Maki was wondering what she was doing. It had been over three months since the incidents, and Karin and Kenta were now an official couple.

It was spring. The cherry blossoms were at full bloom. Kenta and Karin were walking, hand in hand, under the trees of the park. She and Winner were observing them from under a bench.

Maki looked at Winner. She had expected him to jump out and say something idiotic again. But, for once, his face had a different expression. It didn't have the expression of anger. No. It was an expression of defeat. Of surrender.

"Winner-kun, what's the matter?" she dared to ask.

"Do you think I've lost to Kenta Usui?" he asked.

Maki bit her lip. She didn't want to be cruel to Winner, but he had to know the truth.

"He and Karin are happy together. Let them be. You can always protect Karin, and be there for her, but let Kenta be with her."

"But… she is the one…"

Winner seemed troubled. But Maki understood. He had got it all wrong. Winner thought that he could only protect Karin if he went out with her. He had never once considered to protect her discreetly, to protect her happiness even if he wasn't her love.

He had never once thought about protecting her without being her boyfriend.

And Maki knew something. Deep within, she and Winner were the same. So she decided something. She would let him go. Because, more importantly than going out with him, what she wanted the most was to see Winner happy.

"That doesn't matter. You can protect her anyways, can't you? You can always be there, unnoticed, protecting her from the shadows. Even if you aren't the one for her, you can surely look out for her."

Winner looked at Maki. She had a smile on her face. A small grin occupied his own lips. He rose from the floor, and held his hand out. Maki looked at him in surprise.

"I think I will be going now. Will you be coming with me, Maki-san?"

And, for the second time in her life upon hearing that word, Maki's heart fluttered.

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Please, read and review! Let me see what you think!

COC


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